WASHINGTON (January 7, 2026) – The White House announced last week that they would provide $2 billion next year to help fund humanitarian aid. The announcement was met with relief by underfunded agencies that provide global aid such as food, shelter, medicine This marks the U.S.’sbiggest international aid donation in 2026; however, the administration is urging agencies to heavily alter the way they provide assistance. A Monday State Department statement posits that individual U.N. agencies “will need to adapt, shrink, or die.”
For additional context and analysis, please consider Maryam Deloffre Associate Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Dr. Deloffre’s research focuses on the dynamics of global and humanitarian governance and coordination, the political economy of humanitarian assistance, non-governmental organization (NGOs) and locally-led humanitarian assistance, and has been published by Oxford University Press and in International Studies Review, Review of International Studies, Global Health Governance, Public Administration and Development, PS: Political Science and Politics, and as chapters in edited volumes.
To speak with professor Deloffre, please contact Skyler Sales at skylers
gwu [dot] edu (skylers[at]gwu[dot]edu)
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